Three-dimensional chess
Three-dimensional chess was a variant of the ancient Earth board game chess. It was an accustomed pastime of Kirk and Spock aboard the in the 23rd century and its popularity extended into the 24th century. Play Movement of pieces is similar to that of traditional chess. The main difference is that, in the course of a move, pieces may move up or down any number of levels. Moves *Aldabren Exchange *El-Mitra Exchange *Kriskov Gambit *Queen's gambit History Philippa Georgiou kept a three-dimensional chess board in her ready room on the . ( ) Commander Spock was an exceptional chess player and kept a three-dimensional chess board in his quarters on the ( ); his game was consistently logical. However, he often had a difficult time predicting or effectively responding to unexpected moves made by his frequent opponents, Kirk and Doctor McCoy. ( , et al.) In 2266, while the Enterprise and its crew were apparently helpless against the alien Balok threatening to destroy them, Spock compared the situation to chess, suggesting that the Enterprise crew was checkmated and the game was over. However, a comment from McCoy led Kirk to reject Spock's chess analogy and try a bluff similar to playing poker with the alien instead. ( ) Spock introduced chess to young passenger Charles Evans, who disliked the involved nature of the game. After losing, he destroyed Spock's chess pieces. ( ) Spock also enjoyed playing chess against a rival logical mind, that of the Enterprise computer. In 2266, he detected programming errors in the computer's databanks because of faulty chess moves made by the computer. He later introduced the tampering and unreliability of the computer's records as defense evidence in the court martial of Captain Kirk. ( ) In 2268, Spock played a game of chess against Kelvan expedition leader Rojan. He observed, during their match, that Rojan's game was "off." ( ) Later that year, Kirk and his senior officers used a chess-based code as transporter clearance, when Garth of Izar planned to escape from the Elba II insane asylum. Chief engineer Scott declined to beam Garth, disguised as Kirk, to the Enterprise, when, after he challenged Garth with the code phrase "queen to queen's level 3", Garth could not respond with the correct pass phrase (which Spock revealed as "queen to king's level 1" when he called for transport back to the Enterprise). ( ) A problem based on a type of three-dimensional chess on a spherical board was part of a memory test Spock took in 2286. ( ) A group of genetically enhanced children at the Darwin Genetic Research Station played three-dimensional chess by using telekinetic abilities they had been given. ( ) In 2366, Commander William T. Riker defeated both Ferengi Doctor Farek and a Ferengi guard at a presumably alien variant of 3D chess. The former defeat was in Ten Forward, and the latter took place while Riker was a captive of the Ferengi, along with both Counselor Deanna Troi and her mother, Lwaxana Troi. ( ) Reginald Barclay analyzed a chess game after being altered by the Cytherians. He made a move that would force checkmate within nine moves, despite not having previously been a player of the game. ( ) Two years later, Counselor Troi managed to beat Lieutenant Commander Data at a game of 3D chess in Ten Forward, prompting Data to honor a bet they had agreed upon, whereby Data was to make Troi a Samarian sunset in the "traditional style." ( ) Commander Benjamin Sisko, also a fan of the game, kept a three-dimensional chess set in his quarters aboard Deep Space 9. ( ) Appendices Appearances * ** ** ** ** ** ** ** * ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** * ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** * ** ** * See also * Board game * Space Checkers aka Three-dimensional checkers Background information Collectibles company Franklin Mint produced two different tridimensional chess sets; one based on the TOS four "attack board" version, and a second based on the TNG six-boarded version. A call sheet from the episode , dated , listed three-dimensional chess as one of the required items from the art department in the special instructions section. Here, it was referred to as "Okuda chess set". Apocrypha The Pocket Books novel "The Klingon Gambit" additionally made several references to three-dimensional chess. of makes a quick – and foreshadowing – reference; as the two fight their way through the Narada (largely a fistfight rather than the gun battle seen in the film), , marveling at 's highly effective use of Suus Mahna (thinking to himself, "he even fights logically"), concluded, correctly, that the Vulcan must play a "mean game" of 3-D chess. A game of three-dimensional chess figures in the first appearance of Kirk and Spock in the video game , when their game play is interrupted by a distress call coming from the Helios station, just after the captain's tactical error is exploited by the Vulcan. After Spock leaves his quarters, Kirk sneaks back into the room and moves the Vulcan's piece surreptitiously. This version is somewhat different in that the attack board may be suspended below the main board. External links * * * Star Trek 3D Chess * Kobayashi Maru Variant of Star Trek 3-D Chess * Parmen - Free Tridimensional Chess Software * Tridimensional Chess Rules * 3D Chess * Tournament rules for Three-dimensional Chess * Boardgamegeek entry cs:Trojrozměrné šachy de:Dreidimensionales Schach fr:Echecs 3D Category:Recreation